Company Culture, Where’s The Beef?

Netflix. Zappos. Google. Apple.

Collectively over $100 Billion in annual sales. Trendsetters for their fields and beyond. But what quality do they all have that impresses me the most? They have all mastered the art of creating an amazing company culture.

[kuhm-puh-nee kuhl-cher]
Date : 20th Century
The shared values and practices of the company’s employees; the total sum of the values; traditions and meanings that make a company unique

In more understandable terms, company culture is the personality, attitude, values and practices of the company’s employees. What is it like to work for XYZ Company? What kind of people work there? What is the dress code? What is their mission statement? What is the atmosphere like? The answers to these questions are exactly what make up a company’s culture, and it doesn’t matter if you have 4 employees or 4,000.

WHY IS GREAT CULTURE IMPORTANT FOR SMALL BUSINESS?

Let’s think about it like this… What is the most integral part of a hamburger? The burger! Of course you can’t have great hamburger without a bun, maybe a slice of cheese, some lettuce, tomato and your condiment(s) of choice. And if you’re like me, a slice of bacon or two wouldn’t be a bad thing. Those extras are great, but each one is expendable. Even the bun is expendable, ask any Atkins’ dieter or someone with gluten allergies! But the one thing you can’t do without is the beef patty. And if it’s cold, if it’s dry, if it’s under or overcooked, it’s just a crappy burger.

A company is the same way. The most important asset for any company is its people. The people you have dictate the attitude towards launching a new product line. They dictate how well a new idea or staff member is received. They set the bar for efficiency, productivity, and attitude. It’s pretty safe to say they even dictate your bottom line. So how do companies like Zappos and Google do it?

DEFINE YOUR CULTURE….LITERALLY

The first step to molding your company culture is to, as Stephen Covey puts it in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (affiliate link), begin with the end in mind. Visualize what you would like your culture to look like once all of your changes have taken effect. What is the day to day life like? How do people come together as a team? How do they treat your customers? Then, get busy writing! The first of two main documents you need to focus on is a Mission Statement. My personal view on a Mission Statement, make it as short as effectively possible. Take more than 20 minutes, but don’t create a committee that meets for 2 months. It has to be real, and every decision you make will support it. The second document is your Core Values. You are permitted to Google “core values” and see how the big boys write theirs, but you’re NOT ALLOWED TO COPY! Your list of Core Values means absolutely nothing if those values aren’t your nature. You may want to boast “We’re a Green Company”, but if you don’t live and breathe that every day as a company, you’re just lying to yourself. While these could be used for marketing, that’s not the point here. This is your gut check document, come clean! If you’re lying to yourselves on one value, how can you hold yourself and everyone else accountable for the rest of them?

HIRE FOR CULTURE FIRST

Once you’ve established who you are and what you believe in, it’s time to start getting people who are aligned with this stance. The New York Yankees are notorious for adopting new philosophies of how to win that next championship. One year they may decide that a solid starting pitching rotation is what is going to propel them to victory. But they don’t just dream it, they do it! They throw hundreds of millions of dollars at the best free agents and trade other good talent to restructure the pitching staff. I’m not suggesting that you ever change your culture, nor do I suggest clearing out your locker room and throwing substantial money and new employees, but we can learn a lot from this. When you determine what type of culture will truly give your establishment the best environment, and what type of attitudes and values will bring success, don’t be afraid to make it happen.

There is even a bigger point to make here. The Yankees realize that they can’t wait for great talent to become available and you shouldn’t either. Great people already have jobs! Sometimes posting a position on Monster or Career Builder isn’t the best option to attract the type of person you’re looking for. There are thousands of potential employees out there working in a similar field that you can scout. Yankees scouts are all across the nation going to games and checking out the skills, fundamentals and attitudes of players in many levels of the game. There is no reason why you can’t do the same. Say you meet a waitress in a restaurant that you feel would be a fantastic addition to your staff. Pursue them! Be respectful of their place of business, but give him/her your card, be upfront with your intentions, and ask to discuss the opportunity at a later date. Being a small business, you may not be able to offer them a better wage or benefits, but you’ll be surprised at how much being wanted will matter to them. Tell them what kind of business you have, what kind of culture you’re creating and how you see them fitting in. It is the ultimate professional compliment to say, “I want to work with you.” Regardless of whether you come to an agreement, you will build relationships with great people in your community.

So, what about your company? Is the burger on your company’s sandwich cold, dry or missing entirely? What are the difficulties you face in creating and maintaining a strong culture?